THE EXTINCTION OF ANIMALS (EXTINGUISHED AND TO BE EXTINGUISHED)

Extinctions happen when a species dies out from cataclysmic events, evolutionary problems, or human interference.

The truth is, scientists don’t know how many species of plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria exist on Earth. The most recent estimate put that number at 2 billion, and that will most likely change at some point.

One thing we do know: The western black rhinoceros, the Tasmanian tiger, and the woolly mammoth are among the creatures whose populations at one point dwindled to zero, and it’s possible that species extinction is happening a thousand times more quickly because of humans.

The last living Rabb's fringe-limbed tree frog died in 2016 at Atlanta Zoo. The now-extinct Panamanian frog species was discovered in the wild in 2005, and just two years later no more of the frogs could be found.

Extinction happens when environmental factors or evolutionary problems cause a species to die out. The disappearance of species from Earth is ongoing, and rates have varied over time. A quarter of mammals is at risk of extinction, according to IUCN Red List estimates.

Among the most famous species driven to extinction by humans is the dodo, a bird that primarily lived in the island nation of Mauritius and was popularized by its appearance in Lewis Carroll’s book “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.” Dodos were first mentioned by Dutch sailors in the late 16th century and last seen in 1662 after having been hunted to extinction. Passenger pigeons, billions of which frequently blanketed North American skies when Europeans arrived on the continent, went extinct when the last one died at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914.

The rare female Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit—which used to be found in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, California, Nevada, and Utah—is in danger of becoming extinct. Its primary habitat and diet, sagebrush, is in sharp decline, which in turn makes declining populations of the rabbits less likely to be able to rebound from disease or climactic disasters.

Slowly increasing surface temperatures caused by heightened levels of greenhouse gases likely will cause many species to move toward the Earth’s poles and higher up into the mountains to stay in habitats with the same climates. But not all species will be able to adapt quickly enough to stave off extinction and many are expected to perish.

What can we do about it?

Using fewer fossil fuels by lowering the thermostat, driving less frequently, and recycling is one good way to slow the rate of extinctions. Eating less meat and avoiding products, like ivory, that are made from threatened species also can make a difference. At home, securing garbage in locked cans, reducing water usage, and refraining from using herbicides and pesticides can protect local wildlife.

The Simandoa cave roach, extinct in the wild, now is only kept in captivity.

The extinct Sthenele wood nymph, mounted on pins for display, had disappeared from the San Francisco Bay area by 1880.

To calculate the rate of extinction before modern humans evolved, about 200,000 years ago, Pimm and his colleagues reviewed data from fossil records and noted when species disappeared, then used statistical modeling to fill in holes in the record. That analysis revealed that before humans evolved, less than a single species per million went extinct annually.

CAUSES OF EXTINCTION

1. Natural disasters 

2. Changes in weather patterns. 

3. Disease 

4. Habitat loss 

5. Pollution 

6. Overexploitation 

7. Climate change

Our ecosystems are providing absolutely necessary services to maintain a biosphere that can support human life. 

These are services that we cannot replicate on a scale required to maintain our population of 7.6 billion, much less the projected population of 10 billion by 2050. The services range from the purification of our air and water, to the manufacture and preservation of a healthy soil, up to the cycle of nutrients and the dispersion and pollination of seeds necessary to grow food and medicinal plants that are the basis of our pharmaceutical products.

                                                 
                            

The dynamics of ecosystems also further sustains biological diversity.

• A wetland that lacks aquatic vegetation cannot purify water. 
• A wood forest cannot provide the photosynthesis necessary to clean the carbon air. 
• Depleted soil of organisms cannot create new soil or maintain plant roots and prevent erosion. 
• If the animals responsible for seed dispersal or the insects responsible for pollination become extinct, the plants they serve will become sterile and will also die.

                                                     

10 ideas to reduce extinction on animals

•  Everything counts and everything adds up, from throwing away or not a garbage.
• Use a bicycle, walk or share the car. 
• Reuse containers and do not use plastic.
• Do not waste energy. Turn off lights that are not being used.
• Preheating the oven is unnecessary. It can also be turned off 10 minutes before, as the heat it retains helps cook food.
• Repair, reuse and recycle, that is, consume only what is really needed.
• Avoid using products with packaging or wrappers that end up being thrown away.
• Use vinegar and baking soda as a degreaser, disinfectant and stain remover instead of toxic products.
• Plant trees.
• Turn off tap water by brushing your teeth, which can save the equivalent of 60 glasses of water.

Conclusion of animal extinction

Extinction is a "biological reality", once a species dies out due to natural causes or human activities, it disappears forever. There are important differences between the current mass extinction and those of the past. First, the current mass extinctions are caused by us. Between 2,000 and 10,000 generations are needed for new species to evolve. Second, it takes place in just a few decades instead of more than 269 million years. Third, plant species are disappearing as rapidly as animal species, several species have been threatened with extinction due to habitat destruction by human activities such as deforestation for agriculture, air pollution, water, land, plants and animals, etc., but also that of other species by consuming most of the available food. Sometimes, it is extremely difficult for species to survive in their own favorable environment.